Hello and welcome back to The Most Amazing Channel on the internet.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate and today I am excited to be giving you a little slice
of my homeland as we talk about the Top 10 Scary British Superstitions ! We are a superstitious
bunch us Brits – with thousands of years of history coming up with weird rules to live
by!
Stay tuned, but before we get into the video I want to ask you guys what superstitions
you have in your country.
Let me know your traditions in the comments section down below!
Also while you are down there why don’t you hit that thumbs up button and subscribe
if you haven’t yet!
Also please do stick around to the end of the video to some responses to your comments
on a previous video.
10 - The Upside-down Horseshoe In the UK, horseshoes are a big symbol of
good luck.
This is for a number of reasons – one being that they are made from iron and forged in
fire which makes them representative of something strong and unbreakable.
Goblins and demons are said to be afraid of iron.
Also, horses don’t seem to feel pain when horseshoes are hammered to their feet, which
led many to believe they are magical.
A lot of people hang horseshoes in our outside their homes in the UK, it is also customary
to give a bride a horseshoe on her wedding day.
The two prongs are supposed to collect and store good luck.
Great.
Sure….
But you don’t want that horseshoe to invert…..ever.
Conversely, An upside-down horseshoe is terrible luck in Britain – any luck stored would
immediately be poured out and lost.
Others say an upside down horseshoe would attract negativity.
9 - New Shoes on the table Anyone seen Blood Brothers the musical?
I am pretty sure it is the only musical Danny has seen!
Anyway one of the major omens in the musical that foreshadows the death of the twins is
new shoes on the table.
This is a classic British superstition.
Shoes have a lot of superstitions and cultural implications across the world, but in the
UK new shoes on the table is a terrible omen that invites bad luck into your life.
Some people believe it signifies that you will have a fight with someone you love, others
say it is a death omen – which is probably linked to the tradition of placing miners
old shoes on a table in the event of their death at work.
Cheery.
8 - Never Open an Umbrella indoors Oooof never!
Don’t do it!
Opening a brolly, as we call it in the UK, is a sure fire way to invite bad luck…in
fact they say opening an umbrella indoors means that bad luck will rain on you.
Some say it is an insult to the sun god, others say it is an insult to the guardian spirits
of your home.
Opening an umbrella in doors, practically, can cause you ill fortune as you could break
something … but in British superstition in runs much deeper than that.
7 - No Sweeping on New Years This is a Scottish tradition and one that
I observed this year as a precautionary measure.
My friend Denise who is Scottish told me about this one and I did NOT want 2019 bad luck.
Its bad luck to start the new year with a dirty house, mind, you should always take
your bins out and tidy before New Year, but when the clock strikes 12 you should not do
any sweeping, vacuuming or mopping until the 2nd January.
The reason for this is because you will sweep away all of the good luck for the year…which
really isn’t what you want.
6 Salt over the shoulder If you spill salt in the UK it is a terrible
omen.
In order to protect yourself from bad luck when you spill salt is to throw some over
your left shoulder.
The reasoning is because , when you spill salt, the devil is watching over.
Throwing salt is said to be in order to get him in the eye and distract him from caysing
you trouble.
If you don’t throw the salt….
Well… watch out.
5 Never Pass on the Stairs Stairs can be dangerous if you aren’t using
them properly.
I fell down the stairs once and fracture my leg, and lots of older people end up having
falls when climbing up or down.
In the UK, it is bad luck to trip on the stairs…but I guess that just makes sense!
Crossing on the stairs is also terrible luck in the UK for both parties involved.
It suggests that you will come across great conflict in the near future.
I didn’t realise it wasn’t a thing elsewhere in the world – when I come across people
on the stairs I either walk but up or down so we don’t have to cross…and in Canada
people generally looked at me like I was mad.
White table cloth Never leave a white table cloth out overnight
on a table overnight as it is a sign that you will need a shroud in the house in the
near future – a shroud is a traditional burial garment so basically the superstition
is saying that someone will die soon.
Not idea.
Similarly – 13 people should never dine together as the first to lea ve the table
will be the first in the group to die.
3 - Three Drains in a Row NEVER walk over three drains in a row.
In the UK people believe this will bring you terrible terrible luck.
Some have no idea what back luck is coming, just that it simply IS bad luck.
Others say it is a sign that a lot of people will walk over your grave one day.
There is also an old British belief that if you shudder it is because someone is walking
over your Gravestone.
If you DO accidentally walk over three drains, you can remedy the bad luck by spitting on
the last drain, or finding a solitary drain to walk over.
2 - Salute the Magpie Seeing a magpie on its own is a terrible omen
in the UK.
We have a rhyme that applies to the spotting of magpies – one for sorrow, two for joy,
three for a girl, four for a boy - although the original rhyme is One for sorrow, Two
for mirth, Three for a wedding, And four for death.
five for silver / six for gold / seven for a secret / not to be told / eight for heaven
/ nine for hell / ten for devil's own sell.
If you see one magpie, it is an omen of sorrow, four is an omen of death, nine for hell and
of course ten for the devil.
In order to rid yourself of the bad luck associated with seeing magpies, you must salute them.
If you see just one, you must salute and say Hello Mr Magpie, how is your wife.
Good, great, we’re all crazy!
Finally, an urban legend, a superstition and a fear at the same time.
1 – The Ravens at the Tower of London Ravens in a lot of cultures are bad omens,
but for the UK, specifically the crown, they are necessary.
Ever since the tower of London has stood, which in some form has been the best part
of a thousand years, there have been ravens there.
We don’t know where they came from and why they remain there, but the superstition and
legend is that the tower must house at least six ravens if not the British Monarchy will
fall.
The legend is enduring and was delivered to King Charles II on a need to know basis when
he was going to have them all killed – it was only then he was told the legend, which
must have been passed down through word of mouth for generations, Since the late 1600s
we have been keeping ravens there forcibly!
Today there is an actual Ravenmaster, a Beefeater who’s job it is to tend to the captive ravens
at the tower – currently six and a spare!
The current rosta of ravens are Hardey, Thor, Odin, Gwyllum, Cedric, Hugine and Munin.
They all sound like lads.
At one point in history, the Ravens almost did leave the tower!
During World War 2 they couldn’t abide the sounds coming from the bombing of London.
Luckily one remained and The UK did not fall, nor did the monarchy.
Phew.
So guys that was the Top 10 Scary British superstitions!
Did you learn something?
Do you guys have similar superstitions in your countries?
Let me know in the comments section down below.
LIKE SHARE INSTA… okay comments from the Top 10 Terrifying Things Astronauts have said..
Kerry Ann said: I love space and learning things like this.
This is right up my street!!? – me too!
Donavin Hagen said: There is life out there!
I find the idea ridiculous that there are billions of stars out there, and not one of
them have a planet like ours.?
Ruben Cornejo said what everyone was thinking when they wrote: Space snake!
WTF!